The present generation of Detroit Red Wings leaders are calm and loose, because they know this is the best way to approach a Game 7. If thoughts stray to the possible outcome Sunday night - advancement or elimination - they know to use the magnitude of what's at stake in a positive manner. And above all: Enjoy the moment.

Lifted to victory in overtime two nights ago in Detroit on the backs of Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings get to participate in one of the most exciting events in sports now in their first-round series against the second-seeded Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks and Red Wings have taken turns winning games through the first six meetings, and now there's only one dance left.

"It's an exciting time of the year, for sure," Kronwall said after the Red Wings flew into Orange County on Saturday afternoon, opting to remain in Detroit overnight to get as much sleep as possible. "It truly is a real elimination game compared to maybe some other games. It's one team moves on and one team goes home. As simple as that."

Several Red Wings have been in Game 7's, with Kronwall, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Daniel Cleary, Valtteri Filppula, Todd Bertuzzi and Jonathan Ericsson all going through it four times before and Howard, twice. They know the best approach is to play it cool.

Zetterberg echoed the explanation that a seventh game is different from being faced with elimination earlier in the series, like the Red Wings were Friday.

"It's just a special feeling going in and playing a Game 7," he said. "You don't have to play them that often, and there's something special about them.

"It is fun. It's a big game, just because you don't see them that often."

No one has won two straight games in this series yet. The Ducks will try to feed off their home crowd and hope that Corey Perry will build on his strong play at the end of the third period and bank on Ryan Getzlaf once again living up to his "Captain Comeback" nickname, and count on continued output from support players such as Kyle Palmieri and Emerson Etem.

"We need more out of Corey and Getzy; we rely on them," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We've been a four-line team all year long. The Palmieris and Etems are the guys who are playing as good as anybody right now. If we can equalize Zetterberg and Datsyuk, I think we have a good chance."

For the visiting team, the first 10 minutes of a game of this magnitude is often about weathering the storm. The Red Wings would like to set the forecast themselves.

"Hopefully, we can come out with a good start," Kronwall said. "I think that would be the biggest thing, and then just stick to what we do, keep believing in what we do. Because I think everyone feels when we play our game, we're a really good hockey team."

The Red Wings were buoyed in Game 6 by the insertion of puck-moving defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo. The only change to Game 7 will be on the fourth lin

e, with Patrick Eaves an option to replace Mikael Samuelsson or Bertuzzi. Otherwise, the Red Wings just need to build on all but the last four minutes of Friday's game, which saw them squander a two-goal lead to force overtime.

That includes getting lots of shots through to Jonas Hiller, even though he's fronted by a superb shot-blocking defense. It includes avoiding penalties. It means starting well, staying composed and playing like the team that stormed through the last week of the regular season.

The present generation of Red Wings leaders learned from their mentors how to approach Sunday night, and now the next generation is learning from Zetterberg and Datsyuk and Kronwall how to carry themselves.

"You learn stuff from this," rookie Joakim Andersson said. "You learn when you lost the last game and then you learn from winning this game. Four out of six games so far have gone to overtime and I'm not surprised if we go to overtime in Game 7, too."

Helene St. James covers the NHL for the Detroit Free Press, a Gannett affiliate. Follow Helene on Twitter @HeleneStJames.